LIVINGLIVING
T
he Minnis has recently
been selected as one
of the county's top
dining destinations that
will represent the best
of Kent in the new edition of the new
Relish South East cookbook. The new
edition has 10 pages on The Minnis.
The restaurant began life as a beachside
café in 1934. It enjoys unparalleled
views over the Kent shoreline with views
across Minnis Bay and the Roman fort
at Reculver, where the Barnes-Wallace's
bouncing-bomb was tested.
Jason Freedman, the owner/proprietor
of the award-winning Minnis has taken
care to create a healthy menu, explaining,
"I'm a chef, and it hasn't been easy but I've
lost three stone over a two-year period,
largely by switching to a Mediterranean
diet. There is strong evidence that this
diet lowers the risk of Type 2 diabetes as
well as other conditions such as stroke,
Parkinson's Disease, Alzheimer's and
hypertension. Our menus now strongly
rely on pulses, fresh vegetables and
whole grains supplemented with fish,
seafood, pasta and a few options for a
small amount of red meat. We also serve
wines and water rather than spirits and
CURIOUSLY
INCLINED
sugar-laden carbonated drinks. A glass
or two of red wine is good for digestion."
Freedman has now opened the
Curiously Kentish Delicatessen and Café
with head chef Kevin Faux in response to
customers wanting to buy the home-cured
produce for which it is renowned. Says
Freedman, "Type 2 diabetes is a disease
of a modern lifestyle and is partly a result
of the availability of highly processed,
carb-laden foods. At Curiously Kentish,
we use curing methods that the Romans
introduced to these shore two thousand
years ago, methods which do not use
sugar but retain the taste and nutrients of
the foods being cured using salt and/or
smoke."
In addition to selling its own, salted,
smoked, brined and pickled meats,
fish and seafood plus salads, deli
accompaniments, sauces, Curiously
Kentish also sells artisan foods produced
in Kent, including cheese, pasta, rice,
sauces, speciality oils, vinegars, syrups,
herbs and a host of delicatessen fine
foods. "We will also be preparing 'ready
meals' to take away and re-heat at home,
which will be pre-announced, to allow
healthy meal planning," says Freedman.
www.curiouslykentish.co.uk
Top left, chef Jason Freedman, Curiously Kentish bar and
cafe, its cured foods and the cover of the new cookbook
that features it's recipes.
Modern menus from a Kent-based cafe
use ancient arts for healthy foods.